By Nicole Neroulias Religion News Service NEW YORK — High-profile political leaders get Secret Service agents and police escorts to guard against assassins. Celebrities rely on bodyguards to shield them from overzealous fans. When it comes to Pope Benedict XVI, who visits New York and Washington, D.C. April 15-20, both kinds of protection are equally…

<!––> Wednesday marks the third anniversary of the death of John Paul II, a passing that provoked such an enormous outpouring that the world—and even the College of Cardinals who gathered with the unenviable task of choosing his successor—was transfixed for weeks. We hardly need much prompting to remind us of the emotions and images…

By Elizabeth Birge Religion News Service Two days after the 2004 presidential election, William Portier ran into an acquaintance at the grocery store. The man was a strong opponent of the Iraq war and had demonstrated against it, but when it came time to vote, he chose not to. “He said he couldn’t vote for…

The pre-papal spinning is picking up speed, though it seems largely in the form of pre-emptive whirling by those who fear Benedict won’t get the fair shake he deserves. I wonder if some of the spinning is so out of control that it will have the opposite effect. The latest, and loudest, comes from the…

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